y. it was two years ago this month that giffords was shot through the head during a meeting in tucson. 18 others were shot and six died. a day of testimony began with this: >> speaking is difficult, but i need to say something important. violence is a big problem. too many children are dying. too many children. we must do something. it will be hard, but the time is now. you must act. be bold.

be courageous. americans are counting on you. thank you. >> pelley: giffords, who is partially blind, resigned from congress last year. the rest of today's hearing featured gun control advocates and opponents, and our nancy cordes was there. >> reporter: at one end of the witness table was gabrielle giffords' husband. at the othhe c the national rifle association wayne lapierre, who argued new gun laws are nun necessary. >> the fact is, we could dramatically cut crime in this country with guns and save lives all over this country if we would start enforcing the 9,000 federal laws we have on the books. i'm talking about drug dealers with guns, gangs with guns and felons with guns. they're simply not being enforced. the numbers are shocking. >> reporter: democrats and some republicans said background checks need to be expanded to include firearm purchases made

at gun shows. baltimore county police chief jim johnson: >> the best way to stop a bad guy from getting a gun in the first place is a good background check. >> my problem with back-- background checks is you're never going to get criminals to go through universal background checks. >> mr. lapierre, that's the point. the criminals won't go to purchase the guns because there will be a background check. it will stop them from the original purchase. you missed that point completely. >> senator-- >> and i think it's basic. ( audience reacts ) >> senator, i think you missed-- >> let be there be order! >> reporter: much of the debate centered around a proposed assault weapon ban that would also limit the rounds in a magazine to ten. giffords' husband, mark kelly, argued those restrictions would have lessened the carnage jared loughner could commit. >> in 15 seconds, he emptied his magazine. it contained 33 bullets, and there were 33 wounds.

>> reporter: but gun rights advocate gail trotter argued one person's assault weapon is another's last line of defense. >> and the peace of mind that a woman has as she's facing three, four, five violent attackers intruders in her home with her children screaming in the background, the peace of mind that she has knowing that she has a scary-looking gun gives her more courage when she's fighting hardened, violent criminals. >> reporter: both sides agreed today the government need to crack down on straw purchasers people who buy guns for others who are often criminals. the chair of the senate judiciary committee, a democrat, says he plan to craft legislation that deals with some of these issues within the month. scott? >> pelley: and we should mention that jared loughner is serving multiple life terms now. nancy, thanks very much. the state of connecticut, where newtown is located, is also holding hearings about whether to change its gun laws. one of the witnesses at the hearing tonight will be nichole

hockley. her six-year-old son, dylan, was killed at sandy hook elementary school. she spoke with michelle miller today at the offices of sandy hook promise, the antiviolence group formed by newtown residents. >> reporter: why is now the time for you to stand up and speak? >> now is the time because it's the only way i can... start to make any sense of this for myself. dylan was just pure love, when you get right down to it. i am not being fair to his legacy and memory if i sit back and do nothing. >> reporter: what do you want to happen? >> all i've seen, in all honesty, so far, are people immediately jumping on agendas. i find that disgusting. i would rather see more conversation and listening taking place. >> reporter: the hockleys lived just yards away from the home of the gunman. she saw adam lanza only once.

it was from a distance, the week of the attack. >> it's a physical reaction to realize that, at some point, so soon before it happened, that you'd actually seen the person who took your child. >> reporter: had you ever met the lanzas? >> i'm ashamed to admit no. >> reporter: ashamed? why? >> that house was kind of like a black spot in the neighborhood. no one spoke about them. i never heard a neighbor speak of them. perhaps if there was more engagement within a community, with neighbors looking out for each other, supporting each other, then maybe they would have gotten help in a different sort of way. but to know that you know everyone on your street except one house, and then that happens to be a house with people that... or a person that does this that's kind of hard to swallow. so there's some regret there.

>> reporter: with 100 people signed up to speak at this public hearing tonight, scott, organizers expect this to last well past midnight. >> pelley: michelle, thank you very much. now, a massive cold front is moving through the eastern states tonight after bringing severe weather, including tornadoes, to the midwest and to the south. at least two people have been killed. one of the twisters slammed into adairsville, georgia, northwest of atlanta. >> come on, get back in here! >> pelley: homes and offices were torn apart. one death has been reported there. juanita carter was sleeping when it hit. >> i was hanging-- i was on my-- my back was across those blocks, and i don't remember nothing after that. i blacked out. >> pelley: water shot into the air when a pipe burst, and vehicles were tossed all over interstate 75, including this man's truck. >> it was just unbelievable. it's-- it's nothing-- nothing like i ever seen before in my life.

>> pelley: another tornado struck outside nashville tennessee. home after home was destroyed, and one death is reported there. in memphis, 200-year-old trees were no match for the wind. and cbs news weather consultant david bernard is in miami, tracking the storms. david, what can we expect next? >> reporter: scott, let's take a look at our collection of doppler radars that we have right now. we have a slew of tornado watches that are in effect this evening from tallahassee florida, right through georgia and the carolinas. and within the last five minutes, the washington, d.c. area is now under a tornado watch. so these are the areas we're going to have to watch for the worst weather as we go through the overnight hours. but even philadelphia and new york could see strong winds overnight with some of the storm. >> pelley: seems early in the year for this kind of thing. how did this storm get organized? >> reporter: well, we had a bunch of ingredients that came together, kind of like all the right ingredients, i guess you could say, at the wrong time. and what we're talking about are three main items: a polar air mass-- which we expect, it's wintertime-- pouring out of the plains.

at the same time, we have these powerful jet stream winds that were coming out of the rockies yesterday. and extra warm moist air that's been spilling over the gulf coast. the gulf coast, and you put all those three together and that meant strong winds and in some cases tornadoes yesterday and we're seeing that same kind of weather continue today. fortunately, all of that is going to move off the east coast later tonight and tomorrow things are going to settle down considerably but be a lot colder. >> pelley: david, thanks very much. the economy has turned unexpectedly cloudy. government data out today showed the economy shrank for the first time since the great recession. it contracted at an annual rate of 0.1% the last three months of 2012. the economy had grown 3.1% the previous quarter. a shrinking economy over time spells recession, but don't panic yet. this number is likely to be revised as more data come in. senior business correspondent anthony mason found this dark cloud may have a silver lining. >> reporter: the headline may be

disappointing, but the underlying economy was showing renewed strength at the end of last year. consumer spending, which drives two-thirds of the economy, was up 2.2%. home building soared more than 15% and contributed to economic growth in 2012 for the first time in six years. only government spending cuts on defense caused overall economic growth to flatline. julia coronado is chief economist with p.n.b.-paribas. >> the fiscal tightening is taking a toll. it took a toll on growth in 2012. it will take a toll again in 2013. >> reporter: but in the trade channels of the u.s. economy the tide appears to be turning. are things getting better? >> things are definitely getting better. >> reporter: robert landry is the chief commercial officer at the port of new orleans, a gateway to the mississippi. 33 million tons of cargo come through here a year. do you think the port is a kind of leading indicator?

>> we are-- we see a lot of things before i think it really hits the economy because when people are making decisions, they're making them months in advance to get them on board a ship. >> reporter: so what's happening now? >> right now, we're seeing things pick up. we're seeing more steel coming in. >> reporter: steel imports are up double digits. container traffic in the port of new orleans hit an all-time high in 2012, and cruise ship traffic also set a record. >> we're also seeing a large amount of exports, as well, so we feel very comfortable with the way things are going. >> reporter: the fed said today the pause in economic growth was due largely to weather-related disruptions from super storm sandy and other temporary factors. as one economist put it, it's the best contraction in the u.s. economy you're ever going to see. scott? >> pelley: anthony, you mentioned that federal spending, government spending, had dropped. how much does that have to do with this contraction? >> reporter: well, it's a huge factor, scott. essentially, it wiped out a lot of private sector gains. and, of course, we're going to see congress debating more cuts

in the coming months, so that could put more pressure on the economy. but the private sector continues to show improving strength. >> pelley: anthony mason at the port of new orleans thanks, anthony. overseas, israeli jets attack inside syria today. the syrians claim the target was a military research facility but our david martin at the pentagon tells us that israel hit a convoy believed to be carrying weapons to hezbollah, the militant group based in lebanon. syria is in the middle of a ruinous civil war. israel and the u.s. are worried that syrian arms, including chemical weapons, could wind up in the hands of terrorists. we have new information on the problems with boeing's revolutionary 787. we'll show you why it's a lot more difficult for police to trace a gun than you might expect. and we'll remember the last of the andrews sisters. when the "cbs evening news" continues.

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>> pelley: police in midland city, alabama, say a man shot and killed a school bus driver and grabbed a six-year-old boy from the bus and took him to an underground bunker. now, hostage negotiators are trying to end the standoff that began more than 24 hours ago. at last word, the boy was still being held hostage, but we are told he is receiving medicine that he needs.

the driver is being called a hero for protecting the other children on the bus; 20 of them got away safely. no word on the motivation. when a gun is involved in a crime, the federal bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms often gets involved to find out where that gun came from. but we were surprised to learn how low-tech that tracing operation is. chip reid got a look inside. >> reporter: when a gun is found at the scene of a shooting, one of the first calls made by police across the country is to the national tracing center in martinsburg, west virginia. >> verify that serial number for me, please. >> reporter: here, 350 employees undertake the painstaking process of tracing guns to identify their owners. charles houser has been chief of the center since 2005. >> there is a perception, even among law enforcement agencies that if you send a serial number from a gun up here, that we plug it into a computer and the name

of a gun owner pops out as if there's a national registration system. there's no such thing. >> reporter: no such thing because federal law prohibits the creation of a national database of gun purchases. that ban was first slipped into an appropriations bill in congress in 1979 and became permanent law in 1986 in a law sponsored by two strong supporters of gun rights, idaho republican james mcclure and missouri democrat harry volkmer. the ban on a federal gun sale database has been strongly supported by the powerful national rifle association. the n.r.a. told us it is opposed to any registry of law-abiding gun owners, so workers here are left with an antiquated system to trace 350,000 guns a year requiring them to review by hand tons of paper records and 500 million entries on microfilm. critics say it's the law enforcement equivalent of the horse and buggy. >> i'm calling in regards to the

trace on the glock that we had. >> reporter: investigators spend much of their time on the phone. >> we actually have to contact the chain-- all the dealers in the chain of distribution. >> reporter: more than a third of the traces involve a gun store that's gone out of business. those records are sent to the tracing center, which receives more than 1,000 boxes a month. many of the records are barely legible. >> so, for example, these are records that we received as a result of hurricane katrina. we had to dry these out in the parking lot. >> reporter: you dried these out in the parking lot. >> yes, sir, we did. >> reporter: despite the burdensome process, gun traces that are marked "urgent" are usually completed in 24 hours, but routine traces average about five days. the a.t.f.'s workload is about to become even heavier, scott, because president obama has proposed that all guns recovered by federal law enforcement agencies be traced. that would add about 100,000 more gun traces each year. >> pelley: chip reid at the a.t.f. chip, thanks very much.

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ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles military families face we understand. our financial advice is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. [ laughs ] dad! dad! [ applause ] [ male announcer ] life brings obstacles. usaa brings retirement advice. call or visit us online. we're ready to help. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa. i had this shingle rash right next to my spine. clusters of pustules, pimples. the soreness was excruciating. it was impossible to even think about dancing. when you're dancing your partner is holding you. so, his hand would have been right in the spot that i had the shingles. no tango. no rhumba. you can't be touched.

for more of the inside story visit shinglesinfo.com hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true. ...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios ♪ this is how mommy learned... ...and now... you! [ giggles ] ♪ the one and only, cheerios ♪ >> pelley: >> pelley: boeing 787have been gr dreamliners have been grounded worldwide ever since batteries overheat overheated and one of them caught fire., to well, today, we've learned thatrl airlines have been having frequent problems with the batteries, and sharyl attkisson has been looking into this. sharyl? >> reporter: scott, we've

lear learned that united airlines had to replace multiple batteries on its fleet of six dreamliners in less than three months. united has only been flying ther, dreamliner since early november, so aviation experts say it's a red flag that more than one battery would already be having trouble. also, japan's a.n.a. airline said it replaced ten dreamliner batteries on its fleet of 24 all before the two serious incidents of overheating of grounded the fleet. a.n.a. says half of those the replaced batteries showed an unusually low charge which could be important when lithium ion batteries drain too low; recharging could create a fire risk. they told us it is not a result of safety concerns but part of a procedures that ensure faulty batteries aren't kept in circulation. >> pelley: thank you. the last of the andrews sisters died today. patty andrews was the sister in the middle, the lead singer of the group that provided the soundtrack for the world war ii generation. patty, maxine and laverne could bring g.i.s to tears with the

ballad, "i'll be with you in apple blossom time." or get them rocking to "boogie woogie bugle boy of company b." >> ♪ he's a boogie woogie bugle boy from company b. ♪ >> pelley: patty andrews was 94. the chefs of new orleans giverews was 9 their city a recipe for recovery, next. day and night relief magnesium levels. side effects may include headache abdominal pain, and diarrhea. call your doctor right away if you have persistent diarrhea. other serious stomach conditions may exist. don't take nexium if you take clopidogrel. ask your doctor if nexium, the purple pill, is right for you. find out how to save on nexium at purplepill.com.

we're all having such a great year in the gulf we've decided to put aside our rivalry. 'cause all our states are great. and now is when the gulf gets even better. the beaches and waters couldn't be more beautiful. take a boat ride or just lay in the sun. enjoy the wildlife and natural beauty. and don't forget our amazing seafood. so come to the gulf, you'll have a great time. especially in alabama. you mean mississippi. that's florida. say louisiana or there's no dessert. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ] [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great

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center with generic pinpoint filling monitor then we take special finally tonight, the super bowl has put the spotlight on new orleans. that city's cuisine is world famous, of course. and jim axelrod has found that it's played a major role in bringing new orleans back after katrina. >> reporter: when katrina hit new orleans, scott boswell knew he was in a fight for his restaurant's survival. >> we were fighters. and we kept putting our heads down. every day we would get up, we would figure it out and get through it. >> reporter: so he started by having his french-trained chef fire up the grill. the owner of a five-star restaurant was selling burgers. he even bartered with the national guard for fuel. you traded cheeseburgers for diesel? >> yes. >> reporter: that's a new orleans economy. >> people did things out of the box. we had to. >> reporter: he served a dozen people his first day. he was up to 500 a week later and never looked back. >> we had a $5 burger, potato chips and a drink, and it kept us alive.

>> reporter: it was a model for the entire industry here. new orleans had 809 restaurants the day before katrina hit. there are 1,332 now, this in a city that lost a quarter of its residents. the population shrunk, and yet the number of restaurants went up? >> yeah. it's a miracle, isn't it? >> reporter: tom fitzmorris is a restaurant critic here. >> it's the food show on 1350- wwwl. >> reporter: he is so passionate about food, he wouldn't take a break from his daily radio show to explain the expansion. he did it on the air. >> when we started eating like that again, when we were even getting local seafood already, we said, you know, maybe it will be all right. >> reporter: at 53,000 jobs, the restaurant business is now the largest private employer in the city. it generated $3.2 billion in sales in orleans parish last year. >> the comeback is no longer a

comeback. it's just a matter of okay, we've come back. we've made it. >> reporter: a thought worth toasting here, where business is smoking. jim axelrod, cbs news, new orleans. >> hard work in the big easy. that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald good evening, i'm allen martin. >> i'm elizabeth cook. the 49ers took to the field today for their first practice since arriving in new orleans. and the harbaugh parents spoke on the sibling rivalry for sunday's game and why the brothers aren't speaking to each other. we have team coverage tonight. cbs 5 reporter phil matier on the bid to get the super bowl to the bay area. we begin with sports director dennis o'donnell in new orleans

tonight. dennis. >> reporter: we are still four days away from super bowl xlix but for a football lifer like jim harbaugh today may as well as been christmas morning. >> very excited. >> reporter: very excited. >> reporter: the parents jack and jackie took center stage with a press conference of their own for more on this harbaugh mania here's vern glenn. >> who has it bother than us? >> en know. >> reporter: what an appearance for jack and jackie harbaugh. >> good to see you. >> in fronted of almost 40 cameras, pro football's most famous parents held court for an hour talk about their super

bowl coaching sons, jim and john. >> loose lynx sink ships and no one talks to anyone. they are both eye quiet and guarded and that's the way we want it. >> so are we. >> reporter: story after story >> reporter: story after story unfolded about the boys' upbringing and their influence on football by mom and dad, a college football coach. >> when they could just barely walk, john and jim, she would bring them out to the practice field. and we would be practicing and they would be running and doing all the things that little kids did. eventually piled up dummies and they were jumping at dummies. then they learned they could throw the ball around. then they learned they could get into the locker room and meet the players and do those kinds of things. >> reporter: is the family excited about this matchup! jim called dad right after the nfc championship game. >> and he's going, dad, tell me what's going on! we're getting on the airplane.